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I dislike being pedantic, but in terms of concrete objects, defunct means no longer functioning. Preservationists list buildings as "defunct" or "demolished", thus they are not synonyms. Defunct abstract entities such as businesses, committees, or governments do "cease to exist" when they cease to function, but this is not true of buildings, structures or machines. Despite the presence of non-English speakers, we need not always write as if for the simple English Wikipedia. --Dhartung | Talk04:07, 6 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
FWIW, I agree that's what defunct means; then again, when I started the article, I deliberately decided not to use the word for fear of confusing people. This isn't Simple English Wiki, true, but the lead sentence should be as accessible as possible, don't ya think? —Bunchofgrapes (talk)
"Defunct" could be interpreted to mean that the parachute jump is there but not operating, but you could also call Luna Park and Steeplechase "defunct amusement parks." Sometimes a little precision trumps what seems like elegant economy of language. -- Cecropia06:02, 6 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well. The World's Fair guidebook makes it quite clear that the chutes are held open all the time, while travelling up as well as down. This is confirmed by pictured like this: the domed chutes are presumably coming down and the "pointed" ones going up. So where did I get the crazy idea that this thing actually deployed a closed chute and had the rider go through a few seconds of freefall? It was from two bits of Coney Island: Lost and Found. Especially this part, from p 123:
The parachute jump was developed for the military in the 1930s as a training simulator for airborne troops. Each furled parachute with its rider seated in a harness was carried aloft by a lift rope and guided by six steel cables. When the parachute reached the top, a release mechanism was tripped, and the parachutes and riders went into free fall for several seconds until the chutes opened and slid down the cables.
I guess they are talking about the military versions only, but the blasted book doesn't have the courtesy to mention that. In fact, a couple pages later the author is describing riding the 'chute at
the age of nine: "Then without waning we reached the top. The chute hit and exploded. We were falling."
I recently took a photo of the jump; i'm entirely biased, but i think it's better than the one on the page (it's got more contrast, and you can see the layout of the crown better), and i'm quite happy for it to be used if anyone else thinks so.
There's a bigger version here. -- Tom Anderson 2006-09-20 1518 BST
As well-appreciated as your contribution is, I'd like to point out that the article doesn't carry any historical pictures of the jump in operation. I am hoping that we may be able to see what the thing looked like in its heyday.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 192.31.106.34 (talk • contribs).
The link to the Strong reference is broken. The Stanley Switlik article lists his 1939 patent, which appears to be the Coney Island /World's Fair Tower, although he built an earlier tower in New Jersey. Pustelnik (talk) 21:24, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The Jump closed with Steeplechase at the end of the 1964 season. It was not operated by Norman Kaufman later in the decade, as some sources state. When I wrote my thesis, which is referenced in this article, I took the 1968 date from a NYC Parks Department engineering report. That report, as it turned out, repeated an erroneous date from the NY Daily News article. Back in the late 1990's we were able to talk to Norman Kaufman and confirm that it had not operated after the closure of Steeplechase Park. – Seth Kaufman (11 April 2013) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.198.4.49 (talk) 19:35, 11 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
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I would be tempted to merge the first two (very short) paras in the lead, per WP:LEAD three paras would seem appropriate.
" to operate, as each parachute required three cable operators." repetitive use of "operate"
"was moved to" not really sure we need to pipe "move", most of our readers will understand what that means.
"Today, the Parachute Jump..." per WP:PRECISELANG try to avoid "Today", maybe "As of 2019"...?
"called the "Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn".[5][4]" ref order.
"flagpole.[7]:4[2]:5[8][9] " same.
"keeping labor expenses high" why not "resulting in high labor expenses"? Keeping seems odd to me.
" parachuting could only be taught by jumping out of airplanes, but by the 1930s, technology had advanced to the extent that towers could also be used to teach parachuting" repetitive "parachuting ... taught ... teach parachuting" in one sentence...
"tower on Stanley's farm" Switlik's farm.
"jumping, the tower saw its first public jump on June 2, 1935, when Earhart jumped" jump x 3.
"The Parachute Drop was patented by retired U.S. Naval Commander James H. Strong and Stanley Switlik" was that the name given to this new-fangled machine then? And no need to repeat Switlik's first name again.
"the Soviet Union.[10][17][2]:4 " order.
"modified his invention to non-military use" maybe ENGVAR but I would have modified it "for" non-military use.
"could hold two, " add "people" for clarity.
" jump.[7]:4[2]:4–5[18]" order.
No need to link tornado.
"for $150,000.[12][2]:7" order.
"NYC Parks.[62][63] Subsequently, NYC Parks attempted " -> "NYC Parks,[62][63] which subsequently attempted " to avoid repeat.
restaurant.[74][73] order.
"painted and stabilized the structure in 1993, painting it in its " -> "stabilized the structure in 1993 and painted it in its "?
"from forty-six countries" 46.
"exhibition space.[101][102][99]" order.
"Jump also started lighting up" sounds spontaneous, one imagines it would be more like "the Parachute Jump was lit up..."
"it is still operational " as of?
Avoid SHOUTING in the ref titles.
Spaced hyphens in ref titles should be spaced en-dashes.
Except in year ranges when they should be unspaced en-dashes.
@Pharos: It is true that Steeplechase Park was subjected to a wartime blackout. The Parachute Jump still operated during the daytime, but at night, it did not operate as an amusement ride because it had to be lit as a navigational beacon. epicgenius (talk) 15:32, 11 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]